Swiss Abroad

Problem bear wakes from winter slumber

This content was published on Mar 3, 2008 The bear, named JJ3, arrived in the area from Italy in June 2007 and was fitted with a tracking device before it began its four-month hibernation. Harsh weather due this week could force the animal back under cover, the canton’s hunting service said on Monday. JJ3 caused problems last year destroying rubbish bins around the…

Swiss Politics

Pension and property on parliament agenda

This content was published on Mar 3, 2008 The centre-left wants to facilitate early retirement for low-income earners to balance out a planned increase in the regular retirement age for women from 64 to 65. However, centre-right and rightwing parties have come out against it. The House of Representatives is also due to debate shoring up the invalidity benefit scheme, which has run…

Swiss Politics

Observers worried by Russia poll fairness

This content was published on Mar 2, 2008 Swiss parliamentarian Andreas Gross, head of the Council of Europe’s monitoring mission, is due to present his report on Monday, and will not comment until then. He spent election day listening to people in the field and monitoring the voting. However, one monitor told Reuters news agency that voters’ ballots had been visible to election…

Swiss Politics

Swiss courage praised in Betancourt case

This content was published on Mar 2, 2008 “There is not much time. That is why I am asking Switzerland to continue helping us, and even to redouble its efforts,” Lorenzo Delloye told the newspaper Le Matin Dimanche. Betancourt, a Colombian politician, is reported to be dangerously ill with hepatitis-B. Delloye’s father, Fabrice, told the paper that he had frequent contacts with Switzerland…

Swiss Politics

Observers worried by Russia poll fairness

This content was published on Mar 2, 2008 Swiss parliamentarian Andreas Gross, head of the Council of Europe’s monitoring mission, says the poll does not offer people much choice. The mission already highlighted the limited number of candidates following a two-day pre-electoral trip to Moscow in February. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is stepping down at the end of two four-year terms, has…

Swiss Politics

Debate hots up around Naples waste

This content was published on Mar 1, 2008 Meanwhile plans to incinerate it in Switzerland are generating heated debate. The Services industriels de Genève (SIG), which disposes of Geneva’s waste, is negotiating a contract with two waste management firms in Naples to burn a total of 181,000 tonnes of rubbish in the next four years. The output of SIG’s Cheneviers incineration plant on…

Swiss Politics

Social Democrats hope to recover their fortunes

This content was published on Mar 1, 2008 Christian Levrat, a trade union leader and member of parliament, takes over from Hans-Jürg Fehr. He was the only candidate. The party hopes that Levrat will be able to restore its fortunes after its relatively poor showing in the elections of October 2007, when its share of the vote dropped from 23 per cent to…

Swiss Politics

People’s Party elects new leader

This content was published on Mar 1, 2008 Brunner, a member of the Swiss parliament and well-known party activist who is close to its controversial figurehead, Christoph Blocher, takes over from Ueli Maurer, who has headed the party for 12 years and overseen its sharp rise in popularity. Blocher, who was justice minister from 2003 to 2007, failed to regain his seat in…

Swiss Politics

People power prepares to fight global warming

This content was published on Feb 29, 2008 Pressure is mounting on the authorities to do more to fight global warming in Switzerland, especially after the government’s latest package of measures met with a mixed response. Green groups and centre-left parties handed in their initiative to the Federal Chancellery in the capital, Bern, on Friday. They managed to collect more than 150,000 signatures…

Swiss Politics

New party boss wants stronger Social Democrats

This content was published on Feb 29, 2008 swissinfo caught up with Levrat – the only candidate to take over the job from Hans-Jürg Fehr – to ask him what his plans were for the party’s future and if it could regain voter confidence. The centre-left party took just under 20 per cent of the vote in last October’s elections – down from…

Swiss Abroad

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Swiss Abroad

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Problem bear wakes from winter slumber

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Pension and property on parliament agenda

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Observers worried by Russia poll fairness

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Swiss courage praised in Betancourt case

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Observers worried by Russia poll fairness

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Debate hots up around Naples waste

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Social Democrats hope to recover their fortunes

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People’s Party elects new leader

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People power prepares to fight global warming

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New party boss wants stronger Social Democrats

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